A Step Above Death, Lindy Knows Best, and Looking Forward to the Future with the "Honk the Vote" Campaign!

I feel like death.... I take that back.... a step above death.... I have yet another terrible cold this season making this number 3 in a little less than 4 months. That's what I get for working around kids all the time, oh but I do love those little germ infested twinkle toes, I just wish they kept their germs to themselves! I currently look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with slits for eyes because I'm so exhausted I can barely keep them open and smell like menthol thanks to the number of halls I sucked on. I know, Move Over JT, I'm bringing Sexy Back!

On a good note, the Sabres won last night! :-) 4 to 1 against Toronto! Apparently the Ruffinator's locker room switch up worked, there's no evidence to prove that it didn't. Pominville seems to like the change or Lindy has put the fear of God in him and he's too scared to not agree with Lindy for fear of a major butt whooping. I'm thinking the latter. It seems to have worked seeing that Pominville and Roy both had two goals in the game last night and Roy an assist. (Somebody reacted to being publicly called out by their coach).  Lindy's actions have also seemed to light a fire under Stafford's and Vanek's booties as well, both recording two assists a piece last night.

Two gentlemen that got the Ruffinator's message that he was unhappy with their performance on the ice.

Lindy also thinks that Gerbe is no longer needed in Buffalo at the current time, so back to Portland he goes. I like Gerbe, but like I say "In Ruff I Trust!". Sorry to see you go Gerbe, but if Lindy's decisions lead to games like last night, then whatever Ruff says goes, that even applies to you.

You never argue with this man. He knows best!

I'm not sure if today is the last day or not to vote for the NHL All* Star Game, but it is at 7:31pm EST, Goose has tallied... *drum roll please*..... 449 votes! So, he's not gonna make it to the All*Star game this year, but not shabby for a write in, but if you can still vote, "Honk the Vote!" and vote PAUL GAUSTAD!

WNY's Super Hero! Goose is making sure that trees are being planted through out WNY, so it becomes beautified!

I've also come to the conclusion that Goose really deserves to play in an All*Star game, so I'm going to start the "Honk the Vote! Gaustad in '10!" campaign about 10 months early. No time like the present, eh?

The Campaign Lives On!, Booty Grabbing in Sabresland, and Miller Doesn't Cry Wolf Unless It's Warranted!

The "Honk the Vote! Gaustad in '09!" lives on! Me and Harley did as we promised and made our Honk the Vote! t-shirts. It only took us 4 1/2 hours, but it was well worth it. We spent about 3 1/2 hours masking taping the blank t-shirts before and during the Bills game against Miami. The Bills weren't playing so hot, so all my attention was focused on the t-shirt making of the Honk the Vote! campaign. I personally think they should have let Gibran play the second half, seriously, what did we have to lose? Losing the game? I mean at least we could have seen how he played under the pressure during a true NFL game, but I'm not the coach, so I guess Jauron knows best. Hopefully Trent will be back for this Sunday's game. Hopefully, *crosses fingers*

Back to the campaign.... After the 3 1/2 hours of masking taping our t-shirts, we went out in the 10 degree or less weather and spray painted the shirts for about an hour. We were in my garage mind you, so at least we were blocked from the wind, but it was still colder out there than a penguin's butt! We brought my hair dryer out to dry the shirts so we could spray the front and back of the shirts, we also used it as a hand warmer, because at one point I couldn't feel my hands and I don't think Harley could either. So the process went, one was spraypainting, the other hairdrying, I'm sure we were quite the site if anyone was observing us. But after all that, we have Honk the Vote! t-shirts to wear to the pub tonight! Here are some pics of our awesome shirts....

Front of Harley's T-shirt!

Front of my t-shirt!

Back of my t-shirt!

Sleeve of my t-shirt. #28!

About $10 worth in supplies and 4 1/2 hours of freezing manual labor = priceless because we get to support one of the hardworking hockey players NHL and try to get him a spot on the NHL All*Star team.

The total number of votes for Gaustad today are..... *drum rolls please*... 300! An even 300! Not too shabby. I will say I'm a little nervous about any Sabre being on the Roster because Vanek, Teppo, and Miller keep sliding down the leader board, so they need votes too.

I was unable to watch the game on Monday against Pittsburgh, because I had to teach, but when I came into work on Tuesday my boss was talking about how awesome it was the hit Goose had on Lovejoy..... "Welcome to the NHL Lovejoy!" It was a really awesome hit and I was able to track it down on youtube. Actually it's highlights from the entire game, but if you watch at about 4:18 you can see the awesome check by Goose. Absolutely, amazing! (Another reason why you should vote for him *wink*) I also like the save where Miller looks like he's grabbing I think it's Sekera's butt, of course I laughed at this because of course it was completely unintentional, but I didn't expect it and I had a good little chuckle. (It's at about 1:40, if you want to check it out).

Apparently Monday nights game had a lot of verbal abuse between the Sabres and the Refs. I read that Gerbe had a penalty for abuse to the officials and of course, I'm sure we all know how the Ref. told Miller to go F himself. Craziness! I would like to know what Gerbe said to receive that penalty and what in the world possessed the Ref. to say that to Miller. According to the Buffalo News and the NHL there is  no Miller incident. I've always had a lot of respect for Miller and he really doesn't seem like the type of person to make false allegations. He doesn't seem like the boy who would cry "WOLF!", just to receive some extra attention. The NHL could be trying to cover it's booty and making this statement and making it appear like a miscommunication, but my gut instinct says that Miller's telling the truth. The Ref. may have been stressed (I will agree with Lindy and Rivet that an officiator's job is never easy) and said something that he may now regret, but if it did happen the NHL and the Ref. accused have to own up to it. I really honestly doubt Miller is lying, I just can't see it. He's a smart guy, he knows that making false accusations could make him lose his credibility as a player and a person. He's got too much to risk if he loses his credibility, as a hockey player, business owner, and of course his charity. My brain just can't grasp the fact that Ryan is making it up, I just can't see it. I will say I love the fact that Danny Paille skated over to Miller to see if everything was all right. That shows great team chemistry for the Sabres.

Rekindling the Flame, We're All in This Together, and Brutal Practice Makes Perfect

I've rekindled the flame of an old mini-crush! Ben Affleck! I watched Daredevil Saturday night and fell in love with Ben Affleck all over again, just I like I had in such movies as "Pearl Harbor" and "Jersey Girl" (yes Jersey Girl, I love the scene where the little girl sings a song from Sweeney Todd, classic!). I really wasn't planning on Daredevil being that good and since it was 10pm when it started, I figured I would fall asleep during it anyway. Oh no, I couldn't be anymore wrong! Ben Affleck in that red leather suit, kicking ass and taking names in the name of all that is good and just like a modern day blind Robin Hood. The reason why I have a mini-crush on Ben Affleck came back quicker than the speed of light. I'm sure it will only last until I see the next picture of Robert Redford or my ultimate crush (not just a mini-crush) Rob Lowe. But for the next week or two you have a nice place in my dreams, but only if you have the red leather crime fighting suit or pilot uniform, otherwise no deal!

Since it is Friday and elections were Tuesday, I am sure we are all aware of the results. I'm not pleased with them by any means, but God does everything for a reason. I am glad to say that I don't have to watch any of the annoying political commercials anymore. Not that I really did anyway, because I would flip the channel or take a much needed potty break, but in any event, I'm glad they're done and I'm glad the elections are over, even if I don't like the outcome. Yet, at the end of the day we're all American citizens and all route for the same country, so now we need to stay together and do what's best for the country.

Onto a lighter topic. Sabres game tonight. Could that Ryan Miller be any hotter! (and I don't mean physically, even though he's not shabby) But two shut outs in a row! Not just one, but two! Amazing. Also, the team has played really well the past two games or so I've heard. I was working Monday and unable Saturday to watch the games, but my boss said the Sabres couldn't have been anymore on their game. It was a very well-played game. Hopefully, they can keep it up tonight against the Thrashers. I especially like Vanek's latest blog entry and the last paragraph where the "drills normally aren't that brutal". hahaha Oh, you know that the Ruffinator was beating their arses into the ground because of the previous two loses and it worked because the last two games were phenomenal. I shouldn't laugh that the Sabres got an booty kicking, but it reminds me of my college dance classes when the professor got mad and would just run our arses into the ground. There were days I thought I was gonna bite the big one at the ripe young age of 20, but you know the old saying, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".... must be the Ruffinator's motto.

Pumped Up By Determination, The Awesomeness of Lindy Ruff part 2, and Would a Wild Hog Sabotage a Wedding?

The curse is broken! The Sabres won last night in a SHOOT-OUT VICTORY! I kid you not, because this is no joking matter. The Sabres beat the Canadians 2-1 in a shoot-out. Thank you Kotalik and Stafford for scoring the two shoot-out goals and Miller for being like a brick wall during the shoot-out. I can almost bet good money that Miller was practicing 24/7 how not to be in a shoot-out this past summer. Maybe that's why his guns are so big now, they're are pumped up by determination! Now only if we could take Miller's determination for hockey and focus some of it into writing a blog entry now and again, I think we would be in pretty good shape. I'm not gonna lie Vanek is kicking Miller's arse in blogging. I mean Vanek has written three blogs to Miller's one. *tsk tsk* C'Mon Millsy let's start pulling our weight with the Sabres blogging, it's only fair!

All right, speaking of the Sabres, I forgot to mention this in my last blog, the continued awesomeness of Lindy Ruff and why he's the best NHL coach EVER! This article talks about Lindy and his longevity of being a coach for the Sabres. It talked about how hardworking he is and he demands each player's best. I like that. I do the same with my students. Now I'm no Lindy Ruff, I mean let's face it, who really is, but I teach by that philosophy. The dance director I work for the other day told me that I make some of my high school students nervous, because I expect them to work for me and push them to be better. Ummmmm.... isn't that my job? I told my director, I don't expect every dancer I teach to be the best dancer that graced the earth, heck I'm not even close to that and I'm the teacher, I just expect the girls to give me 110% and dance the best that they can dance. I NEVER compare students to each other because each student is different and has different abilities, that's the way God made them, I just expect them to respect me and work hard. The director agreed with me and liked the way I was teaching, she was just informing me that I make some of them nervous. The funny thing is the ones I make nervous are the ones that want to become professional dancers and if they can't handle it with me, they have a RUDE of wakening when they hit the dance world! But enough about my teaching philosophy, back to the Ruffinator's awesome coaching abilities. I personally like the quote from former Sabre Jay McKee, "Lindy is fair; he demands the same hard work from you that he puts into the job." I couldn't have said it better myself Jay. Lindy hasn't had an easy life either, I'm not going to elaborate, but read the article, it's very fascinating to find out about the man who stand behind the Sabres bench. I especially love Lindy's sense of humor, comparing coaching the Sabres as being on Survivor. I wonder if that's how people end up in the minors. Each player and member of the coaching staff goes into a room with a camera and talks about who needs to be sent down to the minors because they aren't performing to the high standards that are held by the Sabres' organization or maybe the veterans just say something in the camera like, "That Schmelt is really getting on my nerves! He tries to be all tough, but I could cream his arse with my pinky toe. He also skates slower than molasses in January and I swear he doesn't know the first thing about hygiene! I had to room with him on the road trip to Columbus in preseason and I swear he didn't wash his hands after using the John and I think he didn't bathe the whole time we were there! Seriously! That's just disgusting! I can't handle that at all this season! Me and the rest of the veterans have to focus on winning the cup! How can we do that when that smelly schmelt, is stinky up the locker room! He gets my vote! He's off the HSBC island and back to Portland. Oh, and I swear he ate all my Fritos one night, dude! That's just not cool!" Don't dismiss this theory, I bet this really happens...

"Resorting to elementary school recess tactics to reprimand his players. Pommers and Goose are sent to a time out for some reason that in unannounced to me. But if Lindy thinks they deserved it, then they did. We don't question the Ruffinator. We just don't!"

All right, so seeing I can't escape everyone's obsession with weddings ( I have a bridal shower to attend this week-end), I found this article on ways a wedding can be sabotaged. Now don't get any ideas, I'm not about to sabotage anyone's wedding, actually I think it's total B.S. that someone would do that to someone, especially if it's a loved one or friend, but I guess that just shows that some people in the human race can't let another person be the center of attention for a little while, they have to ego-centric and ruin that person's day, so even though they look bad for doing it, the attention is still on them. I guess it's like the old PR motto, "No press is Bad Press". I think otherwise, but hey I only have a minor in PR, so I could be wrong. Some people are just that way and their never gonna change, in theory it's a fabulous idea, but in reality people have developed their lifelong behavior by age 5, so you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I just think the whole wedding topic is being thrown in my face a little too much lately, let's cool it shall we? Even Chi Chi is bringing up the topic, by sending me a facebook message that reads, "If a guy proposed to you in a gas station parking lot would you say yes? Oh and this includes a wild hog for the reception dinner shot the evening before at the bachelor party...? Let's not even open that can of worms.....